photocredit: freeimages.com/davegostisha
By Melanie Stewart
If you’ve been watching the news, you’ve heard a lot about water. It’s easy to forget how valuable water is to us, as we can turn on the faucet and get fresh, clean water whenever we want it. If we were under drought restrictions, had contaminated water, or had to haul it from a nearby reservoir, our attitudes would quickly change.
UNMC/Nebraska Medicine recently announced their commitment to reduce water use to “Net Zero Water.” This does not mean we won’t use any water. We will still use water, we’ll still have green space, and we’ll always recommend washing hands!
The goal means that by 2030 we’ll only use as much water as falls on our property in an average year. As of right now, that would mean we would use 104 million gallons of water per year. That’s a lot of water, enough to fill 160 Olympic swimming pools! Still, it’s a 55% reduction from our 2010 baseline, and 33% reduction from where we are now, so we have some work to do.
Reductions at home are important too; did you know most of us use 20 gallons of water per shower? Or that the EPA estimates Nebraska to be one of the top 7 states for water use per capita?
Here are some simple things you can do to have a sizable impact:
Adele-Hello
Aerosmith-Sweet Emotion
The Beatles-While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Beastie Boys-Body Movin’
Beyonce-Me, Myself, and I
Blake Shelton-Boys ‘Round Here
Coldplay-Clocks
Creedence Clearwater Revival-Born on the Bayou
Dave Matthews Band- Tripping Billies
Flock of Seagulls-I Ran
Jefferson Starship-We Built This City on Rock & Roll
Kanye West-Stronger
Lady Gaga-You and I
Lauryn Hill- DooWop (That Thing)
Lynard Skynard-Sweet Home Alabama
Michael Jackson-Thriller
Muse – Uprising
Paul Simon- You Can Call Me Al
U2-Walk On